Hrithik, Aishwarya's 'Jodhaa Akbar' was made on limited budget: Cinematographer
What's the story
Veteran cinematographer Kiran Deohans has revealed that the epic movie Jodhaa Akbar was produced on a controlled budget. In an exclusive interview with Zoom, he praised director Ashutosh Gowariker for bringing the grand-scale film to life despite limited resources. He also recalled that the entire team dedicated two years to this project. The film starred Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in lead roles.
Resource allocation
Deohans credited director Gowariker for pulling off epic film
Deohans told the outlet, "Credit goes to Ashutosh Gowariker for thinking of making a film like Jodhaa Akbar with the kind of budget given to him. It wasn't much." "The first call we made was to use everything that is made in India." "No technicians and VFX from abroad were used." "Right from the actors to the technicians, everyone was very hardworking and passionate." "It is a once-in-a-lifetime film. The energy was different."
Filming difficulties
Challenges of shooting 'Khwaja Mere Khwaja' song
Deohans also spoke about the challenges of filming the song Khwaja Mere Khwaja in an open space. He said, "There are tents, no houses. I had nothing to put lights on." "At that time, VFX wasn't advanced enough to clean up the frames later." "Ashutosh's rule is very long takes and camera rolls continuously without cuts." "There was no space to put the cameras on the floor."
Filming strategy
'We looked for solutions'
Deohans added, "We had to be theatrical here. The major source of light was the mashaals and candles." "Lights were not advanced back then and we had to manually do that." "It was a tricky song to shoot but with a solid team supporting me, it became easy. We did face problems but nobody complained." "Instead, we looked for solutions." The film also starred Sonu Sood among many others. Released in 2008, the film has since become a cult classic.